


Hot Drinks

by f0rever15elf



Series: 2020 December Writing Challenge [15]
Category: Wonder Woman (Movies - Jenkins)
Genre: Christmas, F/M, Food mention, Pedro Pascal - Freeform, alcohol mention, slight intoxication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-27
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-13 09:35:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29026581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/f0rever15elf/pseuds/f0rever15elf
Summary: Maxwell is finally home for the holiday break, and you make some mulled wine to keep his attention on you.
Relationships: Maxwell Lord X Reader, maxwell Lord / you
Series: 2020 December Writing Challenge [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2127273
Comments: 4
Kudos: 16





	Hot Drinks

Christmas time in Metropolis has always been lonely for you. You moved here fresh out of high school to attend the top business school in the country, away from anything and everything you knew, not like what little family you had left really even cared. Business marketing and management was your major of choice. It was a safe option at the time, the market ever expanding as companies like the ones owned by the Lord family continued to expand, demanding competition. Unfortunately, as graduation from undergrad neared, job prospects were few and your hope dulled. This lead to your decision to attend graduate school, spending another two years to get your MBA. Two more years of spending Christmas alone in your small apartment, family not even bothering to call. You tried not to let it shake you as you sat by your tiny fake tree with its plastic ornaments.

The MBA program was smooth sailing up to your final presentation. You knew that the school had called in several heads of prominent companies in Metropolis, but what you were _not_ expecting was to come face to face with the head of Lord Corp himself, Maxwell Lord.

Maxwell was as charming as he was intimidating when he crossed paths with you. His handshake and wishes of good luck were paired with a smile that very nearly struck you dumb and you’re fortunate that you were able to form the words enough to thank him. When he took his seat, however, his whole demeanor changed. He was challenging you, asking you questions that most normal people would never have thought of, and oh how you loved a challenge. He saved all his questions till the end, asking in rapid succession from his place right in front. The rest of your guests melted away as you focused on him, his questions, and the smug smile on his face as he hit you with question after question.

When he finally sat back, seemingly satisfied, you tuned to look at the rest of the room only to be faced with awestruck stares. You smiled pleasantly, folding your hands behind your back as you asked for any further question. The silence that met you was all the confirmation you needed of your success, and you concluded the conference. You were certain you passed, it had miraculously gone over without a hitch, and as you packed away your things, Maxwell approached you with that same charming smile to congratulate you on a job well done. You weren’t prepared, however, for his next sentence, asking you to come work for him at Lord Corp.

“We could use someone with your tenacity and drive,” he had said, a salesman smile on his face. This was what you had been at school for after all, so without hesitation, you accepted his offer.

You had expected the long days, the heavy workload. You had been ready to prove yourself to your new boss that you were worth the risk he took on you. What you _hadn’t_ expected from your new position were the gifts. It started off as a new pair of shoes, Maxwell insisting that you needed to be in shoes that looked good but still be able to function. He casually overlooked the fact that the shoes cost two months of rent for you. Next came the jewelry; bracelets and rings, earrings and necklaces. When he bought you a new outfit, you finally confronted him, shutting his office door to speak with him in private demand to know why he bought you all these nice things, but did nothing for his other employees. The answer he gave you was not the one you were expecting.

“You… you want… me?” You blinked once, twice, three times as you tried to process his words. He was sitting on his desk in front of you, eyebrows raised expectantly. “As… as in your partner. As in the one on your arm at your fancy galas? The one who gets to call you… mine?” His nod might as well have shattered your world, sweeping you away to a world completely unfamiliar to you. A world of shimmering gowns and expensive wines and fine foods. And you took to it with grace.

Now here you stand, near a year later, in Maxwell’s massive kitchen, stirring a pot of homemade mulled wine on the stove as you wait for him to come home. He was needing to oversee a few more things at work before the holidays, not wanting a few days off of work to put him too far behind. You knew he would be stressed coming home. He always is right before a break, and it’s usually horribly difficult to get him to take some time for himself and for you. Tonight though, you’re determined to sit with him and just enjoy each other’s company for a bit, and you can think of no better way to do so than over warm drinks.

When Maxwell does finally make it home, he pauses in the entryway for a moment as the warm smells of cinnamon, clove, anise, and cardamom wrap around him. He calls your name after hanging his coat, following the smell to the kitchen to find you stirring the pot with two glass mugs beside you. You turn to flash him a smile over your shoulder before turning back to your pot. “What on earth are you doing?” He hovers over your shoulder curiously, looking into the pot bubbling with a dark liquid.

“I’m making mulled wine. Have you ever had it before?” He shakes his head, moving to your side to grab at the bags of whole spices. “You’re in for a treat. It’s a sweet red that I’ve fortified with some of your favorite cognac. It also has a bunch of flavorful spices in it. You drink it warm. It’s a holiday drink and will help you relax.”

“Diamond, I don’t have time to relax.” His frown brings a sigh to your lips as he begins to move away from you, but your reach out to grab his arm. He goes rigid, looking down at your hand before back up to you.

“I know you don’t like taking breaks, Maxwell, but please, for just a few hours will you just sit with me? I don’t ask you for anything, so please let me ask you for this.” He stares at you for a long moment as you refuse to break eye contact, not backing down from his challenge, same as the day you first met. He finally crumbles and nods, running a hand through his perfectly groomed hair.

“Let me go take off my suit, and I’ll join you in the living room.” You give him the biggest smile, one he can’t help but return before going to change. When he returns, he finds you in the living room. You’ve turned on the fireplace and dimmed the lights, wrapping that blanket you seem to love so much around your shoulders. You look… perfect, and for just a moment, all thoughts of needing to work slip away. Without a word, he takes his seat next to you, dressed in a button down rolled to the elbows, slacks, and his house shoes.

“This is probably the most expensive mulled wine ever made,” you tell him with a laugh as you hand him his steaming mug. He sniffs at the drink curiously, glancing up to see you watching him expectantly. With a small sigh, he sips at the drink, eyebrows shooting up in surprise as he looks back to you. “Well?”

“It’s… delicious. You drink this often?”

The smile on your face widens as you scoot a little closer to him. “Not often. Just around Christmas when it’s cold outside. And I don’t usually use such expensive ingredients. Normally I’ll buy a ten dollar bottle of wine and use my cheap spices and low end rum and it still turns out pretty good.”

“Only the best things for my girl,” he states, taking another sip and you nod with a smile. For you, he spared no expense.

The conversation passes leisurely, an odd thing for Maxwell. While he’s used to schmoozing for what he needs from people, casual conversation has never been something he excelled nor indulged in. That is, until you agreed to be his. You love to talk, especially to him, and it was an adjustment to realize that you did so not because you wanted anything more from him than his time and attention. When he had this realization, it was like a weight had lifted from his shoulders and he could enjoy your company more fully. And while nights like tonight were still rare, they didn’t make him uncomfortable anymore, because for a short time, he could be Maxwell the man rather than Mr. Lord, the CEO.

“Maxie?” you ask him meekly after a pause in the conversation and a second refilling of the glasses.

“Yes?” He has his arm around you now, another thing that took time to grow used to for him. Touch normally makes him uncomfortable, someone in his bubble that he wants no part of, but he’s grown used to you. The feeling of your skin is always so warm, and on the days he can’t be near you, he finds himself missing it. Though he would never say that out loud.

“Can I ask you for one more favor?” He looks down at you to see you staring into your mug, rubbing at the rim in that nervous way you have.

“Anything for you.”

“Christmas day… can you spend the day with me? No work, just you and me and some nice food and drinks and gifts?” You look up at him with those pretty eyes that are so expressive and his breath catches in his throat for a moment.

Maybe it’s the alcohol in his system, maybe it’s how tightly you have him wrapped around your finger, but at that moment he feels like you could ask him to quit the company and he would say yes. He can deny you nothing. He gives you his softest smile, one that only you have ever seen before leaning in to press a kiss to your forehead, an action still seldom shared between the two of you. “Christmas day, I’ll be all yours. I’ll arrange for someone else to handle business that day, and you’ll have my total attention.”

“Really?” He hates how skeptical you sound, and he realizes then how the time he thought he was spending with you was actually spent pouring over documents while he pretended to listen to you. If he would only allow his girl the best in life, then that would include time with him as well.

“Really. I’ll turn my phone off, even. Just you and me. And hopefully more of this wine you’ve made.”

A giggle bubbles past your lips and Maxwell’s heartbeat speeds up at the borderline ethereal sound. “I think some more mulled wine is a fair trade for a day of Maxwell Lord’s time.” You set your now empty mug down, a pleasant hum in your veins a mix of excitement and alcohol, and Maxwell follows suit. Emboldened by his answer and your lowered inhibitions, you act out, turning to swing your leg over him, straddling his lap as you lay your hands on his shoulders. His own hands find your hips as he stares up at you, perfectly kept eyebrow arching up nearly to his hairline. When you next speak, your voice is low and sultry. “As for today… can I have a few more hours of my boyfriend’s time?”

He lets out a groan low in his throat, his own inhibitions lowered, and he squeezes your hips possessively. “Only the best for my diamond.” With that, his lips are on yours, his attention yours for the rest of the night. You should make mulled wine more often. 


End file.
